When people can come together with the shared goal of improving lives — and are successful in their efforts — it is a testament to the power of unity. The Release the Pressure (RTP) Coalition – American Medical Association (AMA), AMA Foundation, American Heart Association, Association of Black Cardiologists, Minority Health Institute and National Medical Association – in collaboration with the Eta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.® produced the We Derby with Heart brunch last month to help reduce the prevalence of heart disease in Black communities and remind Black women to make self-care a priority.
“Heart disease is wiping out precious Black lives, and the COVID-19 pandemic has helped shed even more light on the devastating impact of cardiovascular disease in Black communities,” says Stephanie Johnson, vice president of communications and product strategies for improving health outcomes at the AMA. “Through our RTP grassroots work, we aim to provide local support in select communities over the next year in an attempt to build a national scalable and sustainable chronic disease prevention model that is fueled by local activists and supported nationally by the RTP campaign.”
Henry Schein donated validated blood pressure (BP) measurement devices to all in-person brunch attendees (thanks to RTP Coalition partner, AMA Foundation), marking the beginning of their long-term strategy to make available validated BP devices to 300,000 Black adults across the U.S. by 2027.
By Tiffany White | Photos by William Kolb
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